Cooking The Amazing is where to go for recipes and cooking techniques for the home cook at all levels of skill. If you love to cook and eat amazing food, you will find recipes that bring out your creative inner chef here.

July 29, 2010

German Chocolate Cake with thick buttery Coconut and Pecan Icing is a favorite choice for birthdays and special occasions. Even people that do not like coconut want another piece of this ultimate classic cake. There is a real difference making a cake and icing from scratch. You'll appreciate how real this cake tastes compared to a box mix and tub of store bought frosting full of fake this and chemical that. Yes, I am knocking Betty Crocker again. Sure, those cakes taste ok and some even good but none taste Amazing. Read the ingredients list next time you are at the store. I'd rather die from butter overdose than some cancer I got from Miss Betty Crocker. So, give Betty the night off. And this is not the cake you make for your diabetic friend with blocked arteries. It has lots of Butter, Sugar, Cream and Chocolate. All the good things we love to eat and all the things that allow you to be Cooking The Amazing.

Here is the recipe.

COCONUT PECAN ICING

2 1/2 c Pecans, chopped and toasted

2 Sticks Butter, unsalted

2 c Heavy Cream

6 Egg Yolks, large

1 c Dark Brown Sugar

1 c Sugar

1/4 t Salt (preferably Fine Sea Salt)

2 t Vanilla Extract

2 1/2 c Sweetened Coconut Flakes

Total Cook and Prep Time about 17-20 mins not including cooling period.

TIP: Make the Coconut Pecan Icing first so it has time to set up while the cake bakes and cools.

1. In a dry saute pan over medium-low heat toast the Chopped Pecans until lightly browned and set aside to be added later. About 5 minutes.

2. In a large sauce pan over medium heat, melt 2 sticks of Butter.

3. Lightly whisk 6 Egg Yolks in a medium bowl then add 2 c Heavy Cream and Brown Sugar and Sugar, Salt, and Vanilla Extract and mix until well combined with a large spoon or whisk.

4. Pour the Egg and Cream mixture into the melted butter and stir constantly and rapidly over medium heat for 12 minutes (yes, I know, 12 mins.!) allowing it to come to a boil as it cooks. The Icing will thicken and then seem to thin as it cooks and thicken again. It will also get a darker color as it cooks. After 12 minutes, if your arm has not fallen off, it should coat the back of a spoon. It will seem very runny at this stage which is normal. Don't add flour or corn starch to thicken it, this is how it is suppose to be at this stage. Remove from the heat.

5. Add the Toasted Pecans and Coconut Flakes off the heat to the Icing and mix well then scrape icing into a large bowl to cool at room temperature while the cake bakes. Allow to sit for 2 hours to set up and thicken at room temperature. This is important. If you ice your cake too soon the layers will slide off with a thin icing.

6. Bake Chocolate Cake recipe below. Allow the cakes to cool completely. Ice your cake using 1/4 icing between each layer stopping about 1/4 inch from the edge. Then ice the top then the sides and smooth out with a spatula.

4. Combine in a large bowl, all the dry ingredients : Cocoa Powder, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Cake Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt. First sift them through a fine mesh strainer then whisk until well combined.

5. Combine the Eggs, Buttermilk, Sour Cream, Oil, and Vanilla Extract in a medium bowl and mix well. Use room temperature ingredients for the fluffiest Cake.

6. Add dry ingredients to the Egg, Milk and Oil mixture then mix with the hand mixer or KitchenAid for 1 minute, no longer. Over mixing creates a tough cake. The batter will be thin. 7. Let the mixed cake batter sit for 1 minute so the flour can absorb the liquid. It will look soupy and thin.

8. Pour the batter in even amounts into the prepared cake pans which should be on a cookie sheet for easy transfer. Bake in center of the oven.9. Bake for 30-35 mins. at 350 degrees or until a toothpick comes out clean. The 13 X 9 baking pan may need 5-10 mins longer. Cupcakes bake for 21-25 mins. ***Fill cupcake liners 1/2 full or they will over flow.*** Don't over bake.

10. Allow to cool 60 minutes before removing from pans. And cool completely before icing. For best results in appearance refrigerate the cakes before icing for about 30 mins. This cake is very moist and fragile. Hide cracks with icing. The cakes when baked will only fill about 1/2 of the cake pan and not come to the top.11. Ice the layers and sides of cake with the prepared Coconut Pecan Icing and serve at room temperature. See above.

About Me

I am a home cook that likes to make amazing food. I am mostly self taught like most good home cooks with a big influence from my Grandma's cooking style. I attended the Postilion Cooking School taught by internationally respected culinary master Madam Kuony where I learned to cook using classic techniques and to appreciate where my food came from and how it is grown. Cooking should be fun and not intimidating. But the food you cook should be amazing no matter how simple. This does not mean that I do not have the occasional flop from the oven or kitchen fire! I am as real as a home cook can get, just trying hard to keep the fire department from coming to see where all the smoke is coming from.